The First Thing You Notice
by DatAssRomano
Summary: It's strange how even though a puzzle has the same image, the pieces can all be different. Such is life. [EriSol]


The first thing you were aware of was the warmth of the sunlight across your face.

To someone else, it might have been nice, or comforting, but you were a nocturnal creature at best and this was what caused you to roll over, your back unfortunately landing on a few stray Red Bull and Jim Bean cans that had made their way to the centre of the bed. The sharp metal edge of the can prodded at the sensitive skin of your spine and drew a groan out from thin, dry lips. Those mismatched 3-D glasses were still perched on a sore nose, and the air was slightly stale aside from the scent of day-old pizza. It was kind of gross, to be honest, but it wasn't worth the effort to get off your ass at seven in the morning just to clean when you could get a few more precious moments of sleep.

You decide to go back to sleep for a few hours.

The next time you wake up, you make your way to the shower.

It's not a particularly big thing, but it's sizeable, and there's some honey-flavoured shampoo from a friend who worked in a morgue that you can never be bothered using on your tangled brown locks. You simply stand underneath the almost unbearably hot water, letting the heat boil away the sleep and gunk of the night before (probably the week before, you can't remember when you last entered the bathroom) and the droplets run down your pale face, warming it up slightly. With a small, worn sigh in your voice, you close your eyes and let your mind drift.

When you get out, your body's still warm from the water.

Getting ready for the day ahead was the next thing on the agenda.

There was the option of finding a new shirt to put on, but then again, it seemed like a waste of time when there was a perfectly good shirt right here on the floor. Even if there was a chance it had been worn a couple of times and- was that chocolate ice cream? Eh, whatever. Couple it with a pair of black jeans and you were all ready to go out and fucking party, or whatever it was nineteen year olds did normally. Truth be told, you just wanted to play some Minecraft; but that wasn't happening at the moment. At least there was coffee where you were headed; that was a plus, right? A pair of battered Converse was thrown haphazardly by the door to your apartment, right where you needed them to be, and they were pulled on as you made your way out the door.

You didn't bother to lock the door.

Starbucks was empty when you arrived.

You made your way to the counter, ordered an espresso, dumped a shitload of sugar in the concoction, tipped a spoonful of honey from where you had hidden it in your jacket, and sat. The table was by the window so you could stare out of it, watching the people go by as you waited for your friend. She was usually late, so you didn't feel bad for not ordering anything for her. She could take care of herself. As you sat there, wrapped in the mutter of the voices inside your head, the small coffee shop slowly filled with people, but none of them seemed very likely to sit with you, for which you were glad. On the other hand, your friend didn't seem to be meeting with you after all. You checked your phone and found a text apologising and explaining they had got a new body in at work, along with a signature '0u0 –l0ve aa. You decided to forgive her this once, and she sent back a plan to meet up tomorrow instead. Well, at least you'd left the house today, which was an achievement in itself.

You finished your coffee and made your way to the exit.

You were cut off from your blissful game of Minecraft by the chiming of your phone.

Having nothing better to do and the attention span of a goldfish, you profoundly ignored the rough-looking device, deciding it was probably only your idiotic brother and nothing important. Mituna only ever bothered you when he had run out of honey or some stupid shit like that. It went off a second time, but you continued to ignore it as you placed a few more blocks of dirt in front of a meddling creeper. You'd worked hard on this fortress and you'd be damned if you let a simple time-bomb get in the way of it's completion. Truth be told, you could probably keep playing Minecraft for days on end if you didn't need sleep. It was a pain being human sometimes. You snorted under your breath and continued clicking buttons at an ungodly rate, sending another player into the lava surrounding your fortress.

"Bring it on, asshats."

You didn't retire until much later that night.

_**### ####**_

The first thing you were aware of was the warmth of the sunlight across your face.

You went to roll away from the irritating light and rolled off the mattress, landing with a muffled thump and letting out a string of violent curses as your face lands on a container of Chinese takeout and you hit your nose. Your expression twitched slightly, and you scrabbled around on the floor, feeling for your glasses as you grasped them and set them on the counter, where they would be reasonably safe from any more disasters. With the most important accessory you owned safe and sound, you rolled back onto the bed, pulling the covers over your head to hide from the sun as your breathing began to even out once more. It was nice under the doona, warm but not stifling, and soft.

You decide to go back to sleep for a few hours.

The next time you wake up, you make your way to the shower.

You'd slept in later than usual, and as you glanced at the clock- _shit AA was going to kill you- _you realised this was going to have to be a very fast shower indeed. You ran a hand through your hair quickly and let out a huff, grabbing the shower gel and squeezing a large handful into one pale palm. Time was running out. You glanced at the shampoo again like you had done yesterday, but decided it still wasn't worth it. Who would you be trying to impress anyway? No one. That was the answer. No one was worth the effort that went into washing hair. You go to put down the bottle of gel and nearly slip and fall on your naked ass, only managing to stay upright through a nicely placed mustard-coloured shower curtain that somehow managed to hold up your small, lanky weight. That was surprisingly lucky for you, you mulled as you reached for the taps to shut the water off.

When you get out, your body's still warm from the water.

Getting ready for the day ahead was the next thing on the agenda.

The shirt you'd been wearing yesterday had inexplicably had a hole in the back, right in the middle of the spine. Why there was a hole there of all places you had absolutely no idea, but it made it kind of unwearable. That meant you had to go into the depths of your closet and pull out something else. You couldn't quite read what it had written upon the dark fabric, but you were almost certain it was obscene and not something to be worn in public, where children would ask their parents what these aforementioned words meant. Luckily, your jeans from yesterday were still fine, and you zipped up the fly with one hand and grabbed your shoes with the other. You could put them on as you rode down the rickety elevator.

You didn't bother to lock the door.

Starbucks was empty when you arrived.

Your usual spot was once again secured, but then you looked around and realised that between the time you'd arrived and the time you'd picked up your order, the place had filled up. With a barely-noticeable eye roll you took another sip, burning your lip yet again. You never did learn. As you continued to attempt to drink your far too hot coffee, you slowly became aware of a presence at your elbow. Assuming it was your late-coming friend, you glanced to the side with a tiny smile. It evaporated immediately into the dust as your eyes landed on the guy. He looked about your age, and weirdly _clean. _The purple fringe was the first thing that caught your eye, the colour sharp against the dark gold-blonde of the rest. He was dressed in expensive clothing (you could practically _smell _the cash on him) and had a slight frown on his face. He grasped a latte, the pile of whipped cream and chocolate on it making you cringe inwardly. A striped scarf was slung around his neck, and you had the burning urge to simply…

…Strangle him with it. "Fuck off," you said blandly, turning back to your coffee. When was Aradia going to get here? An offended huff sounded from the direction of the hipster wannabe, and when you looked up again he was sitting across from you, arms folded. Jesus, hadn't you just told him to go away? You scowled, and he mirrored the expression, somehow managing to look just as pissed as you did.

"I hadn't even said anything, you asshole!" He spat at you after a moment.

"Do you know what fuck off _means?_" The barbed tone of your voice was ignored as he leaned back, looking at his nails. There was a small moment of heavy silence before the other spoke again.

"So what are you doing here?" There was a tiny wobble in his voice as he pronounced his w's, but it's not like you could criticize with your own lisp.

"None of your business."

"Aw, don't be fuckin' rude. I'm tryin' a make conversation here!"

"Go away."

"Only if you give me your number."

You finally looked up at him, eyes wide behind your glasses. "_Excuse fucking _me?"

"You heard me."

You scowled at him, hoping he'd go away, but apparently he was serious. The two of you sat there silently, trying to out wait the other. Unfortunately, you were impatient at best and stood up with a frustrated sigh. "Give me your fucking phone."

He passed it over and you were half-tempted to give him a fake number, but for some reason you were true to your word and filed your contact under 'Sollux' in his phone and passed it back. The cocky bastard didn't even look at the contact- apparently the thought of faking it didn't occur to him- and pocketed it, standing as well. "Eridan Ampora, at your service," he introduced, giving a little bow as he turned and made his way off before you could even tell him you didn't _fucking care what his damn name was._

You finished your coffee and made your way to the exit.

You were cut off from your blissful game of Minecraft by the chiming of your phone.

At first, you ignored it, much like you had the day before, as you killed a skeleton and continued to place lava around your fortress. Unfortunately, Aradia had decided the other day that you did not answer your phone often enough and had set the damned thing so it got louder with every unanswered text or call. By about a whole minute of Slipknot cranking out _Left Behind _you finally cracked and answered it, albeit not as nicely as you could have.

Not that you ever answered the phone nicely.

"What?!" You snapped.

"Woah, calm down there, Sol. My ears are ringin'."

"Don't care. What do you want?"

"Maybe I just wanted 'ta say hi!"

"Wow. Pretty fucking desperate, huh, asshole?"

"Hey, shut up!"

"Whatever, fishdick."

You leaned back in your computer, a lazy smirk drifting across your face as indignant shouting reached your ears from the other end of the line. It gave you a sick pleasure, knowing that he'd started this thinking he was going to get a date and he'd ended up with your barbed insults. However, for some reason, he didn't hang up- and neither did you.

You didn't retire until much later that night.

_**### ####**_

The first thing you were aware of was the warmth of the sunlight across your face.

You squirmed away from the light, letting out a loud whine. Why the hell did you always leave your damn curtains open when you _knew _it was going to drive you insane when you awoke the next morning?! The smell of dust invaded your nose and you sneezed, the momentum smacking your head back into the hard lump that was supposedly a pillow. A painful throb echoed in your skull and you groaned, rolling away from that bastard of a pillow. It was far too early to deal with this kind of shit. Just too fucking early.

To tell the truth, it didn't really matter whether it was three in the afternoon. It still was too early. Waking up at all was too early. Goddamn all logic, you weren't getting out of this bed until you were good and ready.

Which would likely be never, but nonetheless.

You decide to go back to sleep for a few hours.

The next time you wake up, you make your way to the shower.

You eyed the shampoo warily, the steaming water of the shower dripping down your cheeks and making your fringe stick to your forehead uncomfortably. Should you make that leap? After all, you'd- on a stupid whim- decided to accept ED's (when did you give him a nickname?) offer of coffee. Hey, if he was making the offer to pay for that shit why would there be any need for refusal, right? Free coffee was a great reason to leave this dump for a few hours. You let out a huff as the water chilled slightly and your hand uncurled from your side to reach slowly for the shampoo. Then you paused.

Nah.

_He _wasn't worth it.

Hell, he probably only wanted sex anyway, right? Wasn't that how these things went? _Wait- _how did he know you were gay? Well, bi. You'd heard of gaydars before, but that was still a little weird. Maybe he was just confident.

When you get out, your body's still warm from the water.

Getting ready for the day ahead was the next thing on the agenda.

You at least made the effort of putting on a clean shirt, reaching for something from the very back of your closet. You managed to retrieve a sweater with some obscure band that only you had heard of before. Well, it was clean, and it wasn't hanging off of you like a sack of potatoes, so it'd do for now. You grabbed a pair of grey jeans with ripped knees and tugged them on, hopping on one foot precariously. This didn't work too well for you, unfortunately, as you tripped over a bottle of Coke and fell to the ground, still caught up in your jeans.

You were pretty sure the people across the block could hear your pained swearing.

Oh well.

They were probably used to it, anyway.

You didn't bother to lock the door.

Starbucks was empty when you arrived.

You wondered for a split second if maybe ED had blown you off, that he'd decided he didn't want to bother with a lispy rake of a teen, but then you saw that infernal tuft of violet. Two cups of steaming coffee sat in front of him as he fiddled with the end of his brightly coloured scarf idly, making you question why _anyone _would sell something _that_ yellow. You made your way over to him, your gaze drifting over those ridiculously large hipster glasses. Did he need those to see or was it part of that ridiculous fashion he seemed to be employing?

As you sat across from him and he lifted his eyes to meet your gaze, grey-blue lighting up a little and a tiny smile curving his lips slightly. Goddamn, his lips looked _soft._ Actually, he looked soft all over, but in a good way. Just soft enough to not be the pile of sharp angles you yourself were. You had to physically snap yourself out of your drooling to pay attention to what he was actually saying.

"Huh?"

"Damn, Sol, is my beauty that distractin'?"

"What the fuck?!"

You felt a slight burning in your cheeks and hoped the embarrassed blush wasn't too visible, but the smirk on Eridan's face said otherwise. You took a large sip of your drink and swallowed. How the hell had he known what you liked in your coffee? The smirk grew wider, and oh, how you wanted to wipe that fucking smug look off of his face. Maybe with your lips. But by some miracle you remained somewhat civil, although barbs were traded on and off during the time you spend with the hipster.

You finished your coffee and made your way to the exit.

You were cut off from your blissful game of Minecraft by the chiming of your phone.

For some reason, perhaps premonition of what was to come, you lost interest in your game immediately as your character sunk into lava. Oh well, there goes the one you'd nicknamed Karkat. Meh. You were thinking of making a new one anyway. With a cool name, something like…Dirk, maybe. You unlocked your phone with the flick of a finger and scanned the text that lit up the screen.

_**ED-**_

_**can i come ovver sol please im dyin here**_

_**You-**_

_**why the fuck not**_

_**here, ii'll 2end the addre22. **_

It occurred to you after you sent it that you basically lived in a glorified pigsty. Eridan didn't seem like the type to appreciate the type of glory that came with a man cave. With that thought in mind, you stood and kicked the pizza box nearest to you under the bed.

Good enough.

When Eridan knocked on the door you made your way over there lazily and opened the door. The other gazed at you for a few seconds, seemingly contemplating something before he pushed his way past you and made his way to the kitchen. Your eyebrows raised above your glasses before you sighed and followed him, resigned to the fate you had brought onto yourself.

He had seated himself quite comfortably on your counter, forgoing all the Faygo and assorted energy drinks in your fridge for a beer. You raised an eyebrow yet again, conveying the unspoken question to your houseguest. He shrugged in return, taking a swig and then offering the bottle to you. You took it with a resigned sigh and let the dull flavour seep into your mouth for a moment before the hipster was motioning for you to pass it back. You leaned against the counter he was sitting on, eyes roaming over the assortment of magnets stuck to your fridge.

"So why'd you expect me to save your ass, anyway?"

"Nyeh. My step-sis an' I, we had a fight."

"And you were too much of a pussy to stay and argue with a girl?"

"Nah, it's not that."

You tire of this conversation-so does your guest, apparently, because he doesn't press for a reply- and the room begins to lapse back into silence as Eridan takes yet another abnormally large swallow out of the bottle. Finally he seemed to get bored of the peace and quiet and spoke again, his heavily pronounced accent filling the emptiness.

"So…I noticed you weren't givin' out no kisses on the first date?"

You let out a huff. "I wasn't going to kiss you when you taste like that whipped cream shit."

He slipped off the counter, socked feet making no noise on the wooden planks. A sly look was cast your way as the beer bottle was placed in a safe spot. "So…what you're sayin' is that…you wouldn't mind if I did somethin' along those lines?"

"Try it and see, dickbiscuit."

Hands slid over the sharp bones of your hips, and you felt yourself tense, a pang of anxiety shooting through you for a second before you shut it up and shoved it to the back of your mind. Those stormy blue eyes were staring right at you, and you couldn't find the confidence you'd held previously to meet his gaze. Instead, you studied his lips.

…Why were they getting closer?

His lips touched yours and your brain immediately shorted out. He was _soft. _Not that you expected anything different from an overdressed hipster, but still. His fingers slid under your shirt slowly as he guided the kiss, unbelievably gentle. Warm contact made you flinch as he began lightly feeling the exposed skin of your stomach and waist. He tasted like vanilla- not surprisingly- and the tang of the beer flavoured the kiss as his tongue flicked against your lips, and you let him in reluctantly. His hips pinned you against the counter, the fabric of his pants shifting soundlessly against your jeans as you tasted him.

When you broke away to breathe shakily, you could feel his smirk against your jaw as he kissed the skin there lightly. His breath was cool on the exposed flesh of your neck, and it made you shiver.

"Enjoyin' yourself, Sol?" came his voice, a dark murmur against your collarbone.

The pure sound of Eridan's voice, mixed with his hips rocking up roughly against your own, made you let slip a small groan and grab him tightly, holding him to you to desperately try to increase the friction. You could feel a slight bulge against your thigh through the thick mix of fabric. Eridan let out a breathy sigh that turned into a surprised squeak as he was lifted up onto the counter. You connected your lips to his again, a rush shifting through you from being the one in control. Fingers slipped up your shirt again and you had to move away so Eridan could pull it off of you. The cloth disappeared somewhere out of the sphere of here and now as he tossed it aside and you grabbed for his scarf, using it to pull him closer to you again. He let out a noise of appreciation as you bit into his collarbone roughly, completely pushing aside the teasing route that Eridan himself had taken.

Soon his shirt had gone as well, and Eridan snaked his hand down to swiftly unbutton your jeans. It was almost ridiculously fast, and you inwardly laughed at the absurdity of the situation before your thoughts were cut off by slender, ringed fingers slipping into your boxers to caress your half-hard length.

"Can ... Can we take this to the bedroom?" He murmured into your ear as he wound his hands into your hair. You snorted in reply and lifted him, turning to make your way down the hall.

"Whatever his majesty wants."

You didn't retire until much later that night.

_**### ####**_

The first thing you were aware of was the warmth of the sunlight across your face.

Something soft tickled your nose and you had to resist the urge to sneeze. The curtains were drawn for once in your lifetime, so the light wasn't blinding you. What the hell was that? You went to brush it away, but then you came to the realisation your hand was trapped under something. Something warm. And solid.

What the _fuck? _

"Fuckin' stop movin' around, asshat."

Then you smelt a hint of vanilla and the memories of last night returned to you. You let out a short huff against Eridan's hair and the smaller boy made a sleepy noise of discomfort and tried to bury his face further into your bare chest. You tried to stifle a wry laugh as his leg wound its way around your hip, almost trying to keep you exactly where you were. Not that you had any plans of moving when the soft body next to you was nice and warm. You closed your eyes again, pulling him close.

You decide to go back to sleep for a few hours.

The next time you wake up, you make your way to the shower.

Eridan complained at first about the rude awakening as you shoved him away, but it wasn't like you had woken him up at the asscrack of dawn, so you told him to deal with it, and he begrudgingly followed you into the bathroom. As you waited for the hot water to run you glanced at him. He was leaning against the towel rack, still looking as if he were asleep. His hair was fluffed up into an odd disarray, a mess of gold and purple which would be almost regal if not for the obvious bedhead. He yawned loudly, and you shook your head and tugged him under the hot spray of water with you. You had to almost hold him up as he buried his face into your chest again, his once carefully gelled hair now hanging in his eyes.

You had done _practically everything _for him, which may or may not have been payback for fucking him into the mattress last night. He allowed you to gently wash him, the only indication he was even awake being the fact he was still standing. When you were done you stood with him for a while, simply inhaling the clean scent of soap and vanillas that seemed to follow Eridan everywhere. You dropped to your knees with a devilish smirk at the other, who had his eyes closed still. As you bit the inside of his thigh lightly, you felt his hands thread back through your hair again and pull you close. You let him feel the smile against his thigh as you set to work.

When you get out, your body's still warm from the water.

Getting ready for the day ahead was the next thing on the agenda.

Eridan, seemingly refreshed from the shower, flounced into your walk-in closet, obviously excited at the prospect of clothes. You sat on the bed, an amused smile crossing your face. Clearly the clothes you'd worn previously hadn't given enough of a hint. He came back out, giving you a weary look.

"Why do your fuckin' clothes look like they come from a homeless man?"

"Get lost."

"No, but seriously, Sol. This shit, this is more than pathetic."

"So? I don't give a shit. Stop being such a priss."

A heavy sigh filled the room. You shrugged and Eridan shook his head, messing up his hair even more, before he plunked himself unceremoniously in your lap. Your hands slid around his hips to steady him as you gazed up at him. His lips were pursed into a pout, but it didn't look very convincing. He blinked a few times, and you realised he probably couldn't see very well -if at all- without his glasses, which had been tossed haphazardly on the dresser along with your own. He tilted his head to the side for a moment as if contemplating something, before he spoke.

"Your eyes are two different colours."

"…no fucking shit?"

He scowled at you. "Don't sass me. This ain't the time nor the place."

You shrugged.

He let out a long sigh again and let his hands sit on your thighs, leaning forward so his forehead was pressed onto your bare shoulder. His fringe tickled the skin softly as his lips brushed against your collarbone gently, where a bruise was forming from the night before. Something in him seemed to melt as he slumped against you, mumbling a question into your skin. It took you a minute to translate his thick accent, made worse by his drowsiness, to actually _understand _what he had said.

"Can we go get coffee?"

"Depends. Are you paying?"

"Fuckin' stingy peasant."

You didn't bother to lock the door.

Starbucks was empty when you arrived.

Eridan made his way to go buy the coffee from the waiting barista and you slipped into your usual seat to stare out the window blankly, as you were prone to doing. Unfortunately, you were so caught up in your thoughts that you didn't notice the woman sliding in across you.

"Sollux! It's been too long!"

You looked up, seeing the dark red eyeliner and mass of dark curls. "AA?"

She grinned. "I finally caught up with you!"

You managed a small smile, if only for her. "I missed you, AA."

Of course, that was when Eridan managed to make his way over, sitting himself beside you and giving you your coffee. You took a sip, raising your eyebrows. Was that honey in it? Not that it didn't taste amazing or anything, you just wondered how Eridan had guessed that. The man in question himself winked at her and then glanced at you. Aradia, seemingly pleased with the attention she was getting, smirked at how close the two of you were sitting, as Eridan leaned his cheek on your shoulder. You assumed he was still tired, from the dark circles under his eyes.

"So, Sollux, who's this? I didn't know you had a new boyfriend!"

"He's not-"

"Eridan Ampora, at your service, lovely lady." He winked at Aradia, and she giggled.

"What a gentleman. I like him!"

_Boyfriend?_

You glanced at Eridan, but he was enraptured with Aradia's story of yourself as a toddler, doing strange things. And so, your mind drifted back to the original conversation. _Boyfriend? _Is that what he was? You'd simply assumed he wanted sex, a one-night stand, and that was it. He'd be gone soon, and you could go back to your cycle of Minecraft and coffee.

Without you noticing, an hour had passed. Aradia stood, making her apologies and leaving the shop, her heels clicking on the smooth surface of the floor. You were still baffled at why a mortician would wear fancy clothes like those long flowing skirts she was so fond of. Eridan looked at you, raising one eyebrow at your half-finished coffee, which had long gone cold.

Oddly enough, you picked it up again and took a swallow.

You finished your coffee and made your way to the exit.

You were cut off from your blissful game of Minecraft by the chiming of your phone.

"Ya gonna pick that up?"

"'m busy," you grumbled back as a ringed hand reached over your arm delicately and plucked your phone from amongst the mess of wires.

"Oh, hey there, Ara. How're you?" He grinned at the chirpy reply from the other end of the line, and shifted on your lap. You squinted over his shoulder, trying to see your avatar make its way past a crowd of chickens so you could go up to your house. Unfortunately, something was definitely wrong with the coding on this one; because the moment you flew out of this particular world your avatar glitched out. Fucking glitches. You scowled darkly, and avoided being hit in the face with a stray ringed hand as Eridan waved his hand around, caught up in his current conversation.

Eridan hadn't gone home, in fact, he'd cooked dinner. How he'd managed it with the meagre amount of dust and old cheese in your fridge, you'd never find out. But damn, was he a good cook. He was almost the perfect housewife, except for his consistent complaining about how thin you were and his whining about your fashion sense. Whatever. You were as classy as fuck, and no one could tell you otherwise.

Eridan finished chatting on the phone and put it aside again. "That girl's too good for you," he said, sounding half-amused. You shut down your game, giving up for the moment, and leaned up, lips grazing his collarbone. The blonde squirmed a little as you pulled his face down to yours, but was still compliant. As his soft kisses fluttered along your jawline, down to your neck, you were struck with a sudden thought.

_How long will this last? _

"Hey, ED," you began hesitantly. Those pale eyes opened, and he blinked lazily.

"Yeah?"

"Is this…are we a…" Oddly enough, you just couldn't get the words out. He didn't seem to understand your stuttering, tilting his head to the side lightly, a frown crossing his face.

"What? Speak English. It's bad enough you lisp like a fuckin' python on crack, I don't need you being _completely _incoherent."

"Is this a long-term thing?" Now you'd said the words, you were almost afraid of what the answer would be. Even if he'd only arrived in your life (two days? Three?) a while ago, it seemed like he'd been around forever. You wouldn't say you were _in love _with him or anything, but…you didn't want him to go anywhere. What if this whole shebang was really just a one-night stand, like you'd thought it would be? What would you do if there was no prescence insulting you, complaining about your food choices, affectionately pulling you close? Goddamn, you would miss him. Would your life just go back into that grey cycle of sleep, eat, program? He'd become such a large part of your life in a shockingly short time.

A small smile appeared on Eridan's face, a tiny, almost imperceptible curve of his lips. "I would hope so, you jackass. Plannin' on gettin' rid of me already?"

You grin at him, unbelievably relieved. "Hell no. That ass is staying right where it belongs."

You didn't retire until much later that night.

And it was great.


End file.
